Marshall, Bobbi and I went to Canada's Outdoor Equine Expo

Sunday, 12 June 2011 19:33

Marshall rides the Shuttle in his stroller

This past weekend was a busy one, starting with the Ontario Equestrian Federation's Toronto Horse Day on Saturday. The Ontario Rodeo Association was one of the groups presenting, and we did Bucking Machine Demonstrations and a Horseback Team Roping Demonstration with Robotic Steer (Hot Heels).

All the buzz on twitter about Canada's Outdoor Equine Expo was about the Craig Cameron's Extreme Cowboy Challenge. We tried to make it for the Finale on Saturday Night, but it just wasn't in the cards. The first tradeshow tent at the Canada's Outdoor Equine Expo

Sunday we ventured down. It was a fantastic event for Horse Enthusiasts. Tons of Demonstrations including Stadium Jumping, Saddle Fitting, and our favourite, Western Dressage. The Western Dressage guy, Randy Byers, has his own iPhone app. Truly, there is an app for that!

The food was solid. We had Ultimate Waffles and Pulled Pork Parfait.

And we spent a lot of time watching the Heavy Horses. Our good buddy Nate was there helping with a hitch... and we caught a 2-horse, a Unicorn (Percheron) and the big 6-horse hitch classes.

Iron Horse is a beautiful facility, home of the Canada's Outdoor Equine Expo

What I liked the most was the judges taking the time to explain why they placed the classes the way they did. Though I've seen tons of hitches in tons of places, I learned far more at that event than all of them combined. ie. the Outside Horse(s) are to be a little further ahead than the inside to create a smoother turn... who knew?

The other comment that stuck with me was by Randy Byers, "...horses don't make mistakes, nor can you 'mess them up'. They are only taking cues from their rider...." so true.

It was a great get-away for us on a lazy Sunday.

Nate gets ready to work the Wagons at Canada's Outdoor Equine Expo